USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ Pancakes on Wednesday ~ 10 December 2003

Canteen FRiends

[Radix]

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served in
The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom?
Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

Pancakes on Wednesdays

---

Welcome to Pancakes on Wednesdays.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

---

Here is an amalgamation of trivial facts and seemingly useless data.

Do not forget to hit the hyperlinks.

We have links, lots of them.

COULROPHOBIA

An irrational fear of clowns.

What, fear those delightful purveyors of slapstick comedy? One may as well go in terror of Santa Claus (but then a few people do that too, sad cases of Santa Claustrophobia). But clown humour has always embraced cruelty in its teasing and insulting of other clowns and members of the audience. Clowns represent anarchy, the personifications of unreason, and a force of nature out of control. Who knows what really lies behind their unchanging painted faces and outlandish costumes? These are all good enough reasons for even the strongest and most adult of us to feel unease in the presence of a clown. Some children are terrified by them and a surprisingly large proportion of adults confess to finding them creepy and disturbing, so much so that this word for their condition has had to be invented. It’s not old—perhaps from the 1980s—and has been taken from Greek kolon, a limb, which seems strange until you find the related kolobathristes was a stilt-walker. This seems to have been the nearest its coiner could get to a suitable classical allusion, since ancient Greek didn’t have a word for a clown in our modern sense.

---

Happy Birthday

Arthur Fiedler 1896

Conductor; born in Boston, Mass. Trained as a violinist in Boston and Berlin, he joined the Boston Symphony (1915--30), first playing violin, then viola. Determined to conduct, he founded his own chamber orchestra, the Boston Sinfonietta, in 1924. In 1929 he launched the Esplanade summer series, free concerts by the Boston Symphony, along the Charles River. In 1930 he took over the Boston Pops Orchestra and for almost a half century he was the most beloved conductor of light-classical music in the U.S.A. Active in promoting music through various mediums, he was also made an honorary fire chief because of his practice of chasing every major fire, day or night, and became a familiar figure to Bostonians at the scene of the fires.

---

Todays Wednesday field trip takes us to Riverside California.

---

Happy Birthday

William Safire 1929

William Safire's Rules for Writers:

---

Two confirmed bachelors sat talking, their conversation drifed from politics to cooking.

"I got a cookbook once," said one, "but I could never do anything with it."

"Too much fancy work in it, eh?" asked the other.

"You said it. Every one of the recipes began the same way -
'Take a clean dish'".  

---

Happy Birthday

Bob Guccione 1930

Who let the dogs out?

---

On this day:

1969 - TV history was made when Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Budinger were married on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

Tiptoe to the window, by the window that is where I'll be
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!
Tiptoe from your pillow, to the shadow of a willow tree
And tiptoe through the tulips with me!
Knee deep in flowers will stray, we'll keep the showers away.
And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight, will you pardon me?
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

---

On this day:

1777 - France recognized American independence.

 

 

---

On this day:

1791 - A traffic regulation in New York City established the first street to go "One Way."

I am an excellent driver.

We are counting cards!

Home of Laminates.

---

On this day:

1843 - "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens was published.

 

---

New Atomic Discovery...

The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by GM Research physisists. The element, tentatively named Administratium, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of zero. However, it does have 1 neutron, 125 asistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons, and 111 assistant vice neutrons. This gives it an atomic number of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons.

Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction that it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Adimnistratium caused one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occuered in less than one second. Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years, at which time it does not actually decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which assistant neutrons, vice neutrons, and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each reorganization.

Research at other laboratories indicates that Administratium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations and universities and can usually be found in the newest, best appointed and best maintained buildings.

Scientists point out that Administratium is known to be toxic at any detectable level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how Administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.

---

Would you like some more Lynx with your pancakes?

---

---

On this day:

1903 - The first successful gasoline-powered airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, N.C.

 Orville and Wilbur Wright made the flight.

---

---

1969 - The U.S. Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book" by concluding that there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.

---

1978 - OPEC decided to raise oil prices by 14.5% by the end of 1979.

---

Real Doughboys....

---

2000 - Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers) caught an NFL-record 20 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. The previous record was held by Tom Fears (Los Angeles Rams) with 18 catches on December 3, 1950, against the Green Bay Packers. Owens also broke Jerry Rice's franchise record of 16 receptions set in 1994 against the Los Angeles Rams.

---

Would you like an abacus with your pancakes?

---

We are counting cards.

---

Pancakes Wednesdays

Definitely

 

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Good Evening LaDiva!

[Old Sarge]

Thank you, Tonkin.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

I have no idea how you can have so many cats without going a bit goofy.
My 3 can really do a number on me sometimes. LOL

[Fawnn]

The Carol Burnett Show was great! (Her show was on during the pre-VCR '70s and I turned down more than one chance to go out; I didn't want to risk spending a Saturday night with somebody who'd be less fun than watching her show. LOL)

[LaDivaLoca]

ROTFLOL!!! Good one, minor. How are you? How is school - are you off now for the holidays? *HUGS*

[LaDivaLoca]

THANK YOU, Diva! Another pet dragon for my collection. Actually, this one could do some serious damage - to trolls and gremlins, don't ya think?

[LaDivaLoca]

ROTFLOL!!!

[Soaring Feather]

Burn a few scales and tear up a little hide, yes!!

[radu]

Hi Kathy!
The glass work is FINISHED!! YAAAAAY!! And I still have enough nubs left on the ends of my hands to hit these keys. LOL!

[LaDivaLoca]

Good evening, Captain! I've been jumping back and forth on this thread - my exercise for the day. LOL!

You and Blackie should really teach all of us the Canteen woohoo dance one of these days. You both will surely give the Riverdance troupe a run for their money.

[LaDivaLoca]

LOL! You are too funny but I have to admit I do the same thing too. Nobody comes between me and my favorite shows. They will have to work around my schedule.

[Fawnn]

Old Sarge!!! #350!!!

[LaDivaLoca]

Hallo there, radu! Good to catch here tonight. How are the kitties doing? *HUGS*

[LaDivaLoca]

ROTFLOL!!! and that only looks like a mini hill too.

[radu]

I have no idea how you can have so many cats without going a bit goofy.

I've never once claimed sanity. LOL!! These critters definitely drive me crazy, especially when they're ALL inside when the weather's bad....like now.

Chambers is in the mood to play "fetch" and keeps interrupting me. I can't resist that sweet face of his so I keep stopping for a minute to toss his aluminum foil ball to chase. You'd think he was a dog sometimes. LOL! He's the one who instigates the game, not me.

[Soaring Feather]

Hi Tonkin!

[Kathy in Alaska]

It was good. I go every Thanksgiving to Arroyo Grande on the central coast of California for 2 weeks and a few days. And I can do nothing if I so choose! And I "choosed" this year. AND, I took my laptop and had DSL in my room. (Oldest friend's house.) I got back late Saturday night.

[LaDivaLoca]

You guys still watching Battlestar? I like James Olmos(sp) but I just could not get into it. The original one may not be as high-tech in special effects but I never missed a show.

[Soaring Feather]

LaDiva, have you seen the kids this year?

[Old Sarge]

Good Evening, Canteeners, Troops,
and All the Ships at Sea!

Sarge is now deep into a double shift, and will be here with 'yall all night, until 0700 tomorrow morning.

Seems that a partner on this watch needed to go under the knife for a busted collarbone. The other NCO's and I shuffled our schedules, and you see the bottom line tonight.

I'm hoping everyone's doing okay. My thoughts are with y'all, tonight and every night.

SARGE